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Second, given that our mission statement requires us to strongly support respect for the rule of law, the dismal statistics showing the decline for respect of the rule of law around the world, and particularly in the United States (Canada has not seen the same decline), has raised serious concerns. We determined that one way to help alleviate that problem was to increase civics education around the country. We want people of all ages to know and understand the different roles of each branch of our government and to respect the importance of having an independent judiciary. The College formed a Task Force on Civics Education, chaired by former Regent Kathleen Trafford, which is exploring ways to match the skills and enthusiasm of our Fellows with an organization that has access to the groups of people who need to hear from us. Before long, we hope to seek volunteers to teach a program on civics. In the meantime, the College needs to do all that it can to support an independent judiciary. Our Judiciary Committee, chaired by Donna Melby, is gathering information on attempts by state legislatures to restrict the independence of the judiciary. If you know of such an attempt in your state, please contact Donna and let her know. The Fellows in Alaska sent a letter attacking just such an attempt in their state. Please be diligent in resisting any such efforts in your own jurisdictions. Switching to another part of our Mission Statement, the College seeks to maintain and “improve the standards of trial practice, professionalism, ethics and the administration of justice through education.” We do so in part by nurturing young legal talent in a myriad of ways, some of which I touch on below. First and perhaps foremost, we sponsor four law school competitions: two in the United States and two in Canada. I’ve now had the privilege of attending three of those four competitions, which is one of the most rewarding aspects of being President of the College. Just recently (as of this writing), I attended the National Trial Competition in San Antonio, Texas, where I was able to watch a semifinal round and preside over the final round. The quality of the lawyering in the final rounds was exceptional. For the second year in a row, UCLA took first and second place. The winner of the best oral advocate and coincidentally, his co-counsel from Mercer won the award for best oral advocate during the National Moot Court competition. I also had the privilege of attending the finals of the Gale Cup — Canada’s moot court competition. The Canadian students had the extraordinary opportunity to argue their final rounds in the Supreme Court of Canada with three judges presiding, including Justice Jamal, a member of Canada’s Supreme Court. It was remarkable to watch the students display no intimidation whatsoever in such an awe-inspiring setting. The winning students from the University of Toronto were truly impressive. Someday, it would be fun to have a competition between the top US and top Canadian teams — maybe we can start a friendly rivalry equivalent to the Olympic ice hockey games between our two countries? Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the Sopinka Cup, Canada’s national trial competition, but Past President Mike O’Donnell ably filled in for me. award was a student from Mercer University School of Law, SUMMER 2023 JOURNAL 6